Predictions 101 — Belk Bowl

Cincinnati (9-3) might be the most consistently undervalued team in the Big East Conference. The Bearcats have won or shared five of the last six league titles. Yes, this season’s Big East became a jumbled mess – Honk if you’re a Big East co-champion! – but Cincinnati hung in there and was part of a four-way tie.

Duke – wow, Duke! – made its first bowl game since the 1994 season.

Let’s hand it to the Blue Devils. Once they got to 6-2, achieving bowl eligibility, the party was on. Duke lost four straight games, allowing an average of 49.5 points per games, to finish 6-6. Yowza!

So now we’ll see if Duke can avoid a five-game losing streak (and an overall losing record) that would slightly hamper the program’s postseason accomplishment. Cincinnati, which lost its three games by a combined 16 points, will be difficult to stop, even without Butch Jones, who bolted for Tennessee (defensive line coach Steve Stripling will serve as interim head coach for the game). Quarterback duties were split between Munchie Legaux and Brenden Kay, who stepped up in the last season. But the Bearcats’ most compelling force is senior running back George Winn (1,204 yards, 12 touchdowns).